Joe Lycett has given his final message to David Beckham after shredding "£10,000 of his own cash" because the footballer did not pull out of his mega money sponsorship deal with Qatar.
The 34-year-old comedian admitted he was not strictly telling the truth about loading the stacks of notes into a shredder in the stunt aimed at 'gay icon' David.
The issue of workers' and LGBTQ+ rights in Qatar is still a hot topic in the build up to the 2022 World Cup, with the former footballer coming under fire for signing a £150m contract with Qatar over 10 years.
Taking to Twitter on Thursday, he said: "This is my final message to David Beckham. It's me. That p***k who shred lots of money in the cost of living crisis.
"So where were we? I told you I was going to destroy £10,000 if you didn't end your relationship with Qatar before the first day of the World Cup.
"And then when you didn't end your relationship or even respond in any way, I streamed myself dropping 10k into a shredder.
"Or did I? I haven't quite told you the whole truth. The truth is the money that went into the shredder was real, but the money that came out was fake. I would never destroy money. I would never be so irresponsible.
"In fact, the ten grand had already been donated to LGBTQ+ charities before I even pressed send on the initial Tweet last week. I never expected to hear from you. It was an empty threat designed to get people talking."
Joe continued: "In many ways it was like your deal with Qatar David, total bulls**t from the start. I'm not even queer, only joking."
The comedian went on to say while he didn't shred his cash, he has found something else to shred – Beckham's Attitude magazine cover from June 2002.
Joe said: "This is the first ever cover of a gay magazine with a Premier League footballer on it. I asked Attitude if I could shred and they were more than happy to oblige."
The TV star proceeded to shred the magazine before adding: "Gosh, it's all been quite a lot hasn't it. I'm off down the gay village to have a few pints."
Joe appeared briefly on a Twitch stream dressed in a flamboyant rainbow coloured outfit as he calmly picked up the stacks of cash and dropped them into the shredder like a scene out of a horror film.
The money then exploded out of the front of the machine in tiny pieces never to be used as currency again.
Without raising so much as a smirk, Joe curtseyed to the camera and walked off screen.
Seconds later, the stream and his website Benderslikebeckham.com appeared to go offline and Joe tweeted a video of the destruction with the caption: "A platform for progress."
Prior to the stunt, the comedian had shared a video message directed at Beckham where he commended the footballer for always talking about "the power of football as a force for good", but said Qatar is "one of the worst places in the world to be gay".
He told the footballer: "If you end your relationship with Qatar, I will donate ten grand of my own money (that’s a grand for every million you’re reportedly getting) to charities that support queer people in football.
"However, if you do not I will throw the money into a shredder at midday next Sunday, just before the opening ceremony of the World Cup and stream it right here.
"Not just the money, but also your status as gay icon will be shredded."
Beckham is yet to publicly acknowledge or respond to the comic.
There was a mixed response from fans of the comedian, who has appeared on a host of comedy shows over the years including Live At The Apollo, Taskmaster, 8 Out of 10 Cats, and also fronts Channel 4’s consumer rights show, Joe Lycett’s Got Your Back.
One fan tweeted: "For the people missing the point. It’s Joe’s money. If he’d have bought a watch or a car we wouldn’t have cared. The point isn’t about him shredding money, it’s about highlighting the issues with celebrities taking far greater sums from a country with an awful human rights record."
However, others criticised the star for not donating the money to a food bank or charity rather than shredding it at a time when the cost of living is soaring when they believed the hoax was real.
Former culture secretary Nadine Dorries took to Twitter just hours before the stunt to urge the star to rethink.
Ms Dorries wrote: "Shredding £10k will earn Joe Lycett far more than it will cost him and is in effect a paid-for publicity stunt which has worked.
"Job done. No-one will think any worse of him now if he changes his mind at the last minute and donates it to a homeless shelter in time for Christmas."
Another Twitter user wrote: "While I admire the point you’re trying to make, I do hope you didn’t really shred ten grand because it could’ve been used to feed so many people in need or heat their homes."
Mirror Online has contacted David's representatives for comment.
